High-Speed High-Temperature Silicon Carbide Motor Drive Inverter for Hybrid Vehicles

Construction of a state-of-the-art hybrid vehicle propulsion motor drive including dynamometer and instrumentation for performance measurement is in progress for Phase I. Baseline performance using a silicon semiconductor based inverter and high-speedinduction motor will be established. Phase I will conclude with the preliminary design of a silicon-carbide semiconductor based inverter to be used in Phase II performance testing. A test plan will be derived for full performance testing of the SiC motordrive, including temperature and switching frequency variations.A SiC power device type and source has been selected for Phase II and device characterization will be done early in Phase II. A semiconductor packaging-house has been contacted and packaging options are being considered. The motor drive constructed inPhase I will be equipped with a SiC inverter with an appropriate thermal management system for exploring temperature effects. Testing will include a range of switching frequencies so the results can be projected to various applications. Conclusions as tothe benefits of SiC based motor drive in hybrid vehicle applications will be established.